1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrodepositable coating composition comprising a bismuth salt and a stabilizing compound.
2. Background Information
One advantage of an electrodeposition coating process is that a coating can be deposited onto a substrate even if the substrate has a complicated shape. Accordingly, the electrodeposition coating process has been used in a variety of industries such as the industrial, automotive, and aerospace industries. In general, the electrodeposition coating process is carried out by immersing a substrate into an electrodeposition bath, which contains an electrodepositable (electrodeposition) coating composition, and applying voltage to the substrate thereby coating the substrate with the electrodepositable coating composition. After the electrodepositable coating composition has been applied onto the substrate, the coating composition can be cured using means that are known in the art such as thermal radiation.
The ability of an electrodepositable coating composition to cure at nominal and/or underbake conditions after a certain amount of time (i.e., coating stability or shelf life) is typically taken into account prior to its use. Coating compositions, therefore, having a longer shelf life (e.g., 14 days) are usually preferred over those coating compositions having a short shelf life (e.g., 3 days).